"Yes, this is always our goal, we always go for two gold medals, and this time we did it,"
– taekwondo athletes Luana and Viviana Márton said, all smiles, after arriving in Budapest from the location of their latest success, the World Championships held in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, where they both won in their respective weight categories.
The twins, who train at Madrid's Hankuk, had a busy few days, attending the Sport Forum Hungary conference, giving interviews, and doing what they love doing the most when they are at home: participating in training sessions at their club, Újpesti TE, and helping young people with advice and encouragement.
Passing on their knowledge is important to them, so it is no coincidence that after the 2024 Paris Olympics, they started studying to become professional coaches at the Budapest University of Physical Education. It is quite possible that they will one day become coaches, but for now, competing is what matters most to them. Another reason why they are glad to be studying in Hungary is that it allows them to expand and enrich their vocabulary. The twins were born in Tenerife and lived on the island until the age of 12, before moving to Madrid seven years ago.
Viviana won the Olympics in Paris last year at the age of 18 in the category of 67 kg – Luana did not qualify, but supported her sister's preparations as a training partner in any way she could – and has just won in Malabo in the 62 kg weight class. I asked her how her life has changed over the past year.
"How? Sport still fills my days, which I really enjoy. I learn something new every day, and the most important thing is not to make it a big deal when things don't go perfectly. We also have a mental coach. I train twice a day, just like before, although sometimes I train a bit harder because many people want to defeat the champion. Otherwise, everything is the same.
I'm at the best club, and we're going to Tenerife soon to relax a bit with family and friends because the weather is still good there. In December, there will be an international training camp in Madrid, where people will come from all over, and we'll be able to practice against many competitors of different styles."
She was pleased to learn that after their success, some who had stopped training for a while, started returning to the sport, and yet others tried taekwondo because of them. "We recommend it to everyone because you can defend yourself, and taekwondo also teaches you respect and humility," they said in unison.
Only women competed at the Malabo World Championships. Two and a half weeks earlier, at the end of October, Viviana won the silver medal at the "big" World Championships in Wuxi, China. She gave up the 67 kg category to her sister and said that cheering for Luana, who was on her way to winning the gold medal with all her heart before her own competition had emotionally exhausted her. She lost a lot of energy because of this, which is something she considers a useful experience for the future. In her own final, Viviana suffered a narrow defeat.
"The first world championship gold is more important, but the competition was also strong in the second, so I was very happy to win that too,"
Luana said. She is already a three-time world champion, having won the 57 kg category at the age of 17 at her first adult world championship, and then, after Vuxi, she also won the women's world championship in Malabo.
"The start of the season could have been better for me, but I wasn't discouraged by the occasional defeats in my new division. I expected my rivals to be different, stronger, and to use different strategies, but I knew I had to keep doing what I had been doing. I was patient and didn't rush anything because I knew that October was the important month, that was when I had to be in top form, and since I had been working hard, all that effort would pay off. And that's exactly what happened. Defeating Kristina Teachout of the USA gave me momentum, and then at the World Championships, I hit back at those who had defeated me during the season," said Luana Márton, who won the World Championships by dominating Brazilian Milena Titoneli throughout the final.
Not only did she attack with precision, but she also defended herself perfectly when needed and disrupted her opponents' moves. Since no other Hungarian sport had an individual world champion this year, she has a good chance of being awarded the Athlete of the Year award at the year-end journalists' vote. And there is also a chance that Viviana will be there with her on the imaginary podium.
Since they cannot compete in the same weight class, because they do not want to compete against each other, the current plan is to focus on the 67 kg and the +67 kg Olympic weight classes in preparation for the 2028 Olympics. “Our only goal can be that we both win a gold in Los Angeles. Until then, we still have to collect a lot of points to be in the top five in the world rankings, because that way we'll automatically qualify and won't have to go through the qualifiers. The European Championships will be held in Germany in 2026, and the World Championships will be in Astana in 2027.”
“The Spanish don't stand a chance, we're going to compete for Hungary,”
they said together in front of the microphone at the Újpest club when asked whether they would be tempted to play for Spain.
Their coach, Finnish Suvi Mikkonen, believes that not only do they have a chance to stay at the top for a long time, but that they are also on their way to becoming taekwondo legends.
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